Fuck all this.

Tom cradled Chloe's limp body in his arms.

Finn had healed Chloe's physical wounds, but she was still unconscious. Her skin's hue matched that of the dead Head Collector. Her body twitched with erratic and troubled movements, as if she was trapped in a nightmare.

Kate the Bear sat beside them, whining as she nuzzled Chloe's face.

"Fuck all this," Tom muttered aloud, tears collecting beneath his Iron helmet. He hugged Chloe closer and slowly rocked her back and forth, as he used to do when she was a baby. "Please wake up, honey," he whispered in her ear.

A sharp pain lanced through his stomach. He bit his lip, trying to hide the agony. A Boar had gored him during the last fight, when he had tried to push forward to the Head Collector. Finn had healed his wounds, but the pain had returned with a vengeance now that they were out of combat.

Each time Tom rocked Chloe, pain drilled up his spine and into his neck. His skin burned in a thousand places from cuts he had sustained despite his armor. All this goddamn armor was so heavy, and he was exhausted. The throbbing from the first night's thumb injury had only just stopped; that was a minor injury compared to some of the ones he'd sustained since.

The combined toll was becoming unbearable. He wouldn't be able to function at all if he took much more damage. If that happened he didn't know how he would protect his family.

Not that he'd managed to this time.

Fuck all this.

The dead monsters, the Head Collector, and the putrid human corpses vanished, leaving heaps of loot in their wake.

Tom couldn't care less. None of it mattered.

The minutes passed slowly as Tom held Chloe. He retracted his Iron helmet and pressed his tear-streaked cheek against hers.

Kate the Bear's furry head rested gently on Chloe's legs, her large blue eyes never leaving Chloe's face

The others moved around the dimly lit room, organizing and piling the loot before the insistent stalactites and stalagmites caught up to them. They barely spoke.

Tom, Kate, and Chloe's loot remained stuck to the ground, untouched.

Bo patted Brad on the back. "You didn't have to come, Brad. It was above and beyond. On behalf of both families, I can't thank you enough."

Brad shrugged. "Anything for a friend."

Bo winced, but then smiled and held up his hand. The two of them fist bumped.

Tom brushed Chloe's hair away from her face. He berated himself for his bad choices. He had let everyone down. Especially his children.

The spiky barrier crept through the cavern toward them. The group packed only the most essential loot, and left the rest behind.

Tom clung to Chloe and positioned his Iron feet beneath him. He would carry her, even if his body imploded.

Chloe's eyelids slowly opened. Her blue irises were glassy and distant. She scanned the room and met Tom's gaze. She squeezed tighter into his body and sobbed.

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Kate the Bear nuzzled Chloe's neck, emitting small mewling sounds. Chloe reached out and clung to the furry neck.

"Are you all right?" Tom asked softly. He placed his hands on her shoulders and searched her eyes for reassurance.

"I'm okay," Chloe sniffled, wiping her tears away. "I had to fix my room. It still needs a lot of work."

Huh?

Fuck it, she's okay.

Tom hugged her tighter, and some of the tension left his body.

Bo approached them and cleared his throat. "The stalactites are almost here. I think it's time to get out of this place. One more room to go; what do you say?"

Tess beckoned the group together. "Looks like Finn has everyone's health maxed."

"I have less than half mana," Finn said. "I can probably only heal a few times before I'm drained."

"How about you, Loo?"

"I'm ready. [Mana Spring] just came off cooldown from Room 1."

"Don't use it unless I tell you. At this point it might be our most important spell."

Tess then turned to Amber, who smiled and gave a thumbs up. "I mean, I'm kinda hungry?"

Tess sighed.

"I assume Kate the Bear is good to go. What about you, Tom?"

"I'm ready. Finn topped off my health." Tom grunted as he flexed his arms and back.

Pain-wise, I'm fucking dying.

Chloe was still pale and her speech was slurred. "Low mana. But I guess I'm ready."

"Dad? Brad?"

"Ready," they answered simultaneously.

Brad grinned.

Tess turned to Hana. "What about you, Mom?"

Tom hadn't paid much attention to anyone other than Chloe until now. When he looked at Hana, he was shocked by her hunched and sickly appearance. Hana had been using her spells extensively in the Dungeon battles. She must be fighting some serious sickness because of her spell backlash.

"I'm all right," Hana wheezed. "Low mana." She put her hand over her mouth and coughed.

"I think we should push on then," said Tess. "No one's mana regeneration is fast enough to make a difference before the cave closes in on us."

Tom led the way to the next tunnel. He cautiously approached its narrow entrance and examined the ground. Like the last one, this one had been carved by the Headless.

Those damn trap plates are practically invisible.

He leaned back and gently tapped his foot on the ground in front of him.

Nothing happened.

He stepped forward.

A spear shot out from the wall.

It pierced Tom's sturdy Iron armor. It wasn't deep, but it stung like hell.

"Ow, shit!" he growled. He clenched his jaw against the pain, and tapped the next section of floor.

Each step forward brought a new wave of anxiety; the imagined spears shooting toward his flesh were somehow worse than the real ones. When he didn't set off a trap, his anxiety transferred to the consequences of missing a trigger plate. None of the others had metal armor, and Loo and Finn were much shorter than he was. If he missed a trap, he might kill someone.

He considered barreling through and stomping on every part of the floor as he went.

He stepped around the corner and nearly collided with a floating man.

"The fuck!" Tom stumbled backward.

The floating man was perched upon an ethereal movie camera, reminiscent of the ones on movie sets. He was White, but both he and the camera emitted a soft blue glow. He was chubby with curly black hair, and wore glasses and a fedora on his head.

The man leaned down from his lofty seat and held a finger to his lips. "Pretend like I'm not here." His golden eyes shone, and there was a smile at the corners of his mouth. "Go for it, and good luck!" With a sweeping gesture, he pointed down the tunnel ahead.

"Who are you?" Tom asked, bewildered.

"Never mind that. Just focus on what lies ahead. Be . . . bold, be . . . intense."

Bo's eyes narrowed as he glared up at the floating man. "What the fuck are you talking about?" His volume rose. "What the fuck is this? Can you get us the fuck out of here?"

The man sighed and lifted his hand, indicating that Bo should lower his voice. "I am Caretaker Epic. No, I cannot get you out of here. Now, please, act like I'm not here, and carry on."

Tom watched the exchange with growing unease.

Bo's face turned a deep shade of crimson. He raised his finger and pointed at Epic. "No, motherfucker! You can't get us out of here, or you won't?"

Caretaker Epic eyed Bo with disdain.

"You won't help us, but you'll fucking film us?" Bo's voice was aflame.

Caretaker Epic leaned down toward Bo until they were almost nose-to-nose. "The only way out of this Dungeon is through that last room," he enunciated his words, as though Bo was a lobotomy patient. "I didn't make this place, and I can't change the rules."

Caretaker Epic leaned back, and seemed to assess the entire group. "I watched you clear the last two rooms, and I am here because I believe your final battle will be epic; whichever way it goes." He patted the hovering camera. "This is for the cosmic highlight reel."

Bo threw his arms up. "How is anyone going to watch it! Who the fuck has a TV!."

Caretaker Epic's cool gaze bored into Bo. "I cannot actively help you. However, if you give me a good show, I can offer handsome rewards."

He paused, apparently to let his words sink in.

When he spoke again, his tone was brisk. "I'm a busy man. Should I leave, or should I stay?"

Bo's eye twitched.

"Either way, you have to fight the Boss to leave. What's it going to be? The world is a very busy place."

"Apologies, Caretaker," Hana said. She placed a calming hand on Bo's shoulder. "We're going to head to the last room." She coughed, and grasped Bo's shoulder for support. "Thank you ahead of time for any possible reward you might give us."

Caretaker Epic studied her for a moment, then leaned back on his glowing blue camera. "Good. Remember, act like I'm not here."

The group filed past him.

Tom glanced back over his shoulder. Caretaker Epic was winding the camera's crank, his eye fixed on the viewing lens. The Caretaker leaned out from behind camera; he pointed two fingers at his own eyes, before pointing Tom forward.

As they crept to the end of the tunnel, their footsteps echoed off the damp stone walls, accompanied by the background hum of the magical camera.

A new cavern loomed before Tom. It was filled with shadows and oppressive silence. Tom's eyes darted to the upper rear corner of the room, where Caretaker Epic floated on his ethereal blue camera, already filming the scene.

How the hell did he get up there?

"Look at that FUCKING thing," Bo muttered, his voice barely audible.

A hulking Headless squatted in the center of the room. A giant vertical mouth split its torso, surrounded by numerous smaller mouths scattered across its body. Each mouth had different sized teeth and tongues, all snapping and writhing grotesquely. The creature's dark reddish-brown skin stretched taut over its bulging muscles.

[Level 4 Headless Marauder Boss: Dungeon Born.]

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